Charles Leon
Stories (81/0)
How Creative Thinking Happens
The Adjacent possible In the middle of the 17th century, two men came up with the same idea, independently and simultaneously and a bitter international row broke out, dividing the scientific community and the countries they belonged to.
By Charles Leon3 years ago in Lifehack
If Creative Thinkers Are So Clever, Why Do We Still Have Problems In the World?
Restless minds You would have thought, wouldn’t you, that by now we would have sorted out how we want to live, what political and economic system works and we would have found an excellent comfort level, where nothing changes, and everyone is happy… Brave New World?
By Charles Leon3 years ago in Futurism
How to Optimize you Work Space.
A little before the COVID crisis, I was invited to the House of Lords to join a panel discussion. I hadn’t been to the Palace of Westminster for years and was overwhelmed by the scale, the gravity and the beauty of the space. The architecture was completely congruent with its function and the message it conveyed to the visitor. This is a serious and dynamic place.
By Charles Leon3 years ago in Journal
How to Change a Habit
3 Steps and 4 Laws to make behaviour change easier. 30 years ago, I used to be a very heavy smoker, nearly two packs per day (I also had a huge amount of hair and a moustache back then). Soon after the birth of my daughter, we brought her home from the hospital following a very difficult birth. As I held her in my arms for the first time at home, I had just finished a cigarette. My daughter gave a little cough and I realised if there was ever a time to give up smoking this was it!
By Charles Leon3 years ago in Motivation
The 5 Stages of Design Thinking
Whilst we may love to solve problems with simple linear equations, where one thing follows another leading to a conclusion, the reality is that most problems are complex and confusing. They don’t fit neatly into a mathematical formula and they often have circulating feedback loops creating a lot of confusion.
By Charles Leon3 years ago in Lifehack
Creative Uncertainty
Let me start by asking a simple question. 1 x 10 = 10 x 1, True or false? Well, It depends on how you look at it. Mathematically yes, it’s true. I can fool 10 people once, but I probably can’t fool 1 person 10 times. Logic and maths aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.
By Charles Leon3 years ago in Motivation
"Together on Eagle's Wings"
“Together on Eagle’s Wings” Joe Biden, President Elect - USA If I were to say; “my heart is broken”, you would know what I meant and your “heart may reach out to me” in sympathy. “I’m in pieces!” You’d get a pretty good idea that something had happened that had truly upset me and I was having difficulty coping with it and that perhaps you could help to “put me back together again”. Of course, I’d “bottle up my feelings”, which might suggest that at some point in the future all my feelings will explode into a “complete mess”. Everyday speech is littered with metaphors. It’s not just poets that use them. We use them in almost everything we say so that we can better express and communicate meaning more clearly.
By Charles Leon3 years ago in The Swamp
Overcoming the Monster
Patterns of power in stories A monster leads the Imperial Forces, destroys everything that stands in his way and crushes all resistance. He holds the Princess hostage. Our heroes, lead the rebels to rescue the princess and reclaim freedom and justice for the inhabitants of the Galaxy.
By Charles Leon3 years ago in Motivation
Conspiracy Theories
IS THERE ANY REASON NOT TO BELIEVE? On the 20th of July 1969, 650 million people watched as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin successfully walk on the moon. They landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on the moon and stepped onto the dusty surface. This was, arguably one of the most significant events in history, and yet some people believe that the whole event was a hoax, set up by the American Government and NASA to show how powerful the Government was at influencing ordinary citizens.
By Charles Leon3 years ago in The Swamp
How Constraints and Limitations Boost Creativity.
In May 1954, Life Magazine published an article on literacy, which reported that children were not learning to read - because most of the books they were reading were boring and didn’t hold their attention. At Houghton Mifflin (now Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) William Spaulding read the article and put together a list of 348 words that he felt were imperative for first-graders to know and be able to read. He went to Theodor Seuss Geise - better known as Dr. Seuss, cut the words down to 250, and challenged Geisel to write a book using only those words. “Bring back a book that children can’t put down” was his directive.. The result was “The Cat in the Hat”.. Geisel used only 236 words, and the book has become one of the best-selling children’s books of alll time.
By Charles Leon3 years ago in Motivation
Inventing the Enemy.
After Umberto Eco. I listened to the Trump – Biden presidential debate earlier this week and whilst they bickered and spoke over each other, the phrase - “inventing the enemy” popped into my mind. Like Brexit, the current presidential election race in the US is dividing the people into polar divisions: you’re in one camp or another; if you’re not for me, you’re against me.
By Charles Leon3 years ago in The Swamp